1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a configuration and a manufacturing method of an image forming device such as a printer, a facsimile machine, and a copier, constructed to form an image including characters and graphics, etc. onto a paper as a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional image forming device includes a photoconductive drum, a process unit that can be removably inserted into a device main body, a Light Emitting Diode (LED) head that exposes the photoconductive drum, an LED head supporting unit, and a rack gear.
The conventional image forming device further includes a supporting member, a pinion gear that engages with the rack gear, and an operation member having an operation portion for rotating the pinion gear. The supporting member can move in parallel between an adjacent position at which the LED head is positioned adjacent to the photoconductive drum and a distant position at which the LED head is positioned apart from the photoconductive drum.
In a configuration of the conventional image forming device, it has been considered to assemble a main body with frames formed of metal plates, and to attach an LED head supporting mechanism to the frames.
However, when assembling each of the frames, it requires considerable work to connect the large frames to each other. Moreover, the frames can tumble during an assembly operation, requiring time to manufacture, and efficiency has often been reduced. With this problem in mind, jigs etc. can be used for the assembly operation, however, it is hardly preferable since the cost of the jigs, securing of storage space for the jigs, and a moving operation of the jigs, etc. are additionally required.